Multiplicity
by YappiChick
Summary: Who really thinks three is better than one?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Multiplicity

Author: YappiChick

Spoilers: Up to "The Return" Part 2

Author's Notes: This story takes place before "Echoes"

It was a beautiful day, Sheppard thought as he looked out to the horizon. Of course, with super storms aside, there was rarely a less than perfect day at Atlantis.

The smell of the sea always surprised him; for some reason, he didn't imagine oceans on other planets having the same briny smell of the seas he was use to. Then again, Earth was home to the Ancients before Atlantis was; maybe this was just one way of reminding them of where they came from.

Just as he was about to go inside, Zelenka's voice came through his earpiece. "Colonel Sheppard, I think you should come down to Section 3d. There is something I think you would like to see."

Sheppard tried to think of a quick excuse to get him out of walking down the ten floors. Since the Ancients had come and gone, numerous systems and sections of the city had become operational. Now it seemed that Sheppard was getting calls from excited scientists, filling him in on the amazing finds they discovered, at all hours of the day.

"Well, see, Radek--"

"It's a Full House," the Czech said teasingly.

A smile broke out on John's face. "I'll be there in five minutes."

After returning to Atlantis, Zelenka and Sheppard worked out a deal. If he were to discover anything that Rodney would be interested in, Zelenka was to contact John before Rodney. Never being one to pass up an opportunity to annoy McKay, the scientist easily agreed. Their code was simple; Radek would rate his find based on a poker hand.

On his way to the lab, he bumped into Ronan. Literally. Being so preoccupied with what Radek could have possibly found, Sheppard wasn't paying attention to anything around him. "Sorry," he muttered, trying to get past him without having to stop.

No such luck. Ronan grabbed his arm. "In a hurry, Sheppard?"

"Oh, you know, one of the guys down in the new section has something they want me to see," he said, trying to play it cool. "I'm sure it's nothing."

Ronan looked at him for a few seconds. "Sure," he replied, knowing something was up. "Does that mean you're not going to make it to the meeting?"

Damn, he knew he forgot something. Today was supposed to be when his team was to finally get caught up on all the paperwork that had accumulated since their return. "No. Yes," he answered, holding a finger up, "I don't know. Give me fifteen minutes. I'll let you know then."

With that, he turned around and hightailed it down to where Zelenka was waiting for him.

When he walked into the room where Radek was, the first thing that registered was the horrible smell of rotting fish. "Didn't the Ancients make some kind of air freshener?" he said, trying not to gag.

Zelenka shrugged. "Dr. Davis is trying to figure something out. You'll get use to it after a couple of hours."

There was no way Sheppard was going to stay in there any longer than necessary. "So, what is this amazing find?"

"This way," he said leading Sheppard to a large platform.

Overall, it didn't look particularly impressing to John. There was a large console to the side of the platform with some Ancient symbols. Attached to it were several computers providing an interface for the scientists to use. Above the platform, there was a large circle in the ceiling; Sheppard assumed it was a burnt out light bulb.

"And I'm looking at?"

"The ultimate soldier making machine," Zelenka said excitedly.

"This?" Sheppard asked with disbelief.

Pushing up his glasses, he nodded. "Yes, according to the data we have collected, this machine was able to take a person and make have the strength of three men."

"Really?" he asked, his interest kindled. He thought of Ronan being three times as strong; no Wraith would ever stand a chance against him. "Can we try it out?"

"No no no," the doctor said hurriedly. "There are many more tests we have to run. It will be a while until we can use it. At best, two months. Maybe."

That was not the answer John wanted to hear. Two days he could handle, but months? No way. Before he could complain, Zelenka was called to the other side of the lab.

After he walked away, Sheppard thought he could take advantage of the situation. He knew that his genetic makeup would allow him to activate things without having to touch anything. If he just happened to step on the platform and become strong like the Incredible Hulk, that really wasn't his fault; it was just meant to be.

Making sure Zelenka was still preoccupied, he stepped on the large square. As he expected, things started happening. The circle from the ceiling began emanating a green light on him. The floor also lit up; four circles appeared, one red, blue, green and yellow. The machine started humming loudly.

Now this is what I'm talking about, John thought.

Zelenka was talking when he heard the machine activating. He knew he should have never left the colonel there. It was too tempting for him. Before he could scold him, Rodney started yelling at him through his earpiece.

"What are you doing there, Radek? There is a major power spike coming from where you are," complained McKay.

He turned to face the machine, and Sheppard, to being explaining. The only problem was, he wasn't there. "Um, Rodney, I think you need to get down here."


	2. Chapter 2

Five minutes later, Rodney and Elizabeth hurried into the room. "What just happened here?" asked Elizabeth. Throughout the week, there had been minor problems with the new discoveries, but nothing this extreme.

Zelenka put his hands up in defense. "I told him that the machine wouldn't be ready to use for months."

"What exactly does this thing do?" she asked, studying the consoles suspiciously. She really did not need to have her second in command mysteriously vanish. Rubbing her forehead, she sighed. A headache was definitely starting.

"From the information we have gathered it's some kind of device that will allow a person to become three times as strong," Radek answered.

Elizabeth looked confused. "Why would the Ancients want something like that? It hardly seems like that would be something they would be interested in."

"It was probably another miserably failed attempt for the Ancients to defeat the Wraith," said Rodney sarcastically.

Radek nodded. "That's what we were thinking --" He was interrupted by the machine humming loudly.

Rodney tapped his tablet. "We're getting that same energy spike again."

The three circles lit up for several seconds and then turned off abruptly. John looked from his position and winced. It couldn't be good if Rodney and Elizabeth were there. Based on the look of shock on their face, whatever happened had to have been horrible.

"So, what did I miss?" he asked, thinking the best thing he could do is act normal. That was odd, he thought, his voice didn't sound the same; maybe it was due to his increased strength.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed motion on the platform. When he turned to look to see what it was, he did a double take. There were two other John Sheppards on the platform. Each of them were shooting an amazed look at one another.

"I guess the machine didn't work the way it was suppose to," said three John Sheppards at the same time.

Elizabeth shot a look to Rodney.

"I have no idea what happened. Maybe if I was down here instead of Tweedledum over there, we wouldn't be in this mess," Rodney complained.

Just as Radek opened his mouth, one of the Johns hopped down and stepped in front of Rodney. "Listen, McKay, he didn't know what I was doing so just lay off, k?" He turned to Elizabeth and smiled sheepishly. "You know what they say about boys and their toys."

She closed her eyes and counted to ten. There was no reason to yell at him; the damage had been done. "Rodney, you and Radek work on a way of fixing this. John…all of you, come with me."

The one from the middle stepped down. "Where are we going?"

"To see Carson. We need to make sure you are all really John Sheppard," said Weir in a tone that left no room for argument.

The three men nodded simultaneously. It made everyone in the room a little dizzy. The last John jumped off the platform. He walked to the Sheppard closest to Elizabeth. "You know, I have to say that I am definitely one good looking man," he commented, making his way down the corridor.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrow. "I have a feeling this is going to be a very interesting ordeal."

Glances bombarded them as they made their way to the infirmary. No one had the courage to approach the four of them to ask what had happened.

Just as they were about to load into the transporter, they heard Teyla's voice. "Colonel?" she asked, disbelief in her voice.

Elizabeth forced a smile. "It seems that the Colonel just couldn't keep his hands off a new machine Dr. Zelenka found."

"Hey, I didn't touch anything!" came the answer from all three men simultaneously.

Teyla's eyebrow went up. "Really?"

One of the three stepped a little closer to her. "It wasn't my fault."

"Then how did this happen, Colonel?" she asked with a slight tease in her voice.

"Come on," another Sheppard called. "The sooner we see Carson, the quicker we can get this figured out."

John nodded to Teyla. "Come on, you can keep us company."

The other Sheppard leaned to Elizabeth. "Not that your pissed off look isn't pleasant or anything."

Teyla looked at Weir who nodded. "All right," she said slowly.

John smiled and led her into the transporter with his hand on her back. When she looked at him questioningly, he said, "Just trying to be a gentleman."

When the five of them walked into the infirmary, Carson's jaw dropped. "Should I even ask what happened?"

"No," Elizabeth answered as each of the Sheppards took a seat on a bed. "We need to make sure all of these men are really John Sheppard as soon as possible. Run whatever tests you need to."

The Scot nodded. "Aye, it will take a wee bit of time, I'm afraid."

"All right. I'll post some Marines here," she said.

Sheppard jumped up. "There's no need for that!"

"Yes, there is," one of his counterparts answered. "We don't know what happened to us. No reason to not play it safe."

Grudgingly, he sat down. Carson stood in front of him. "I'll get these tests done as soon as I can, I promise." He turned to Elizabeth. "We may want to have Dr. Heightmeyer up here. She can run some psychological tests, if necessary."

Weir nodded. "Sounds good. How long do you need, Carson?"

"A couple of hours at least," he answered.

"Ok, I'll send Kate and the marines up here. I'm going to go down and see if Rodney's been able to figure anything out." She looked at each of the colonels. "Don't make his job any harder."

"I will make sure that the colonels are on their best behavior," Teyla assured her.

"Thank you," she said as she left the infirmary.


	3. Chapter 3

-1Three hours later, Elizabeth, Rodney, Radek, Carson, Kate, all three Sheppards, Teyla and Ronan sat in the main conference room.

They sat looking at each other for several seconds before Sheppard leaned forward. "So, who's going to break the ice?"

"We have nothing new to report," Radek reluctantly answered.

"Except for the fact that you and your team are incapable of translating Ancient correctly," spat Rodney. He turned to the others. "The machine doesn't make you as strong as three men; it turns you into three men. And so far, we can't find a way to reverse it."

"So you're telling me I'm now a permanent part of the Three Amigos now?" Sheppard asked, rolling his eyes. "For being the brightest people in the galaxy, sometimes you guys really suck."

"Sheppard," Teyla warned quietly.

It wasn't lost on Ronan what she called him. He leaned towards her ear. "Sheppard?" As long as he had known her, she had always addressed him as Colonel or John.

She nodded slightly without explaining herself.

Elizabeth changed the subject. "Carson, what did you find?"

"All three are definitely John Sheppard. DNA tests confirm that," he answered.

"But?" Elizabeth could always tell when Carson wasn't being particularly forthcoming in his diagnosis.

"But, each one is a little different personality wise," Kate chimed in. "After a while, we began to notice subtle, but definite personality differences between the men. We gave each one of them a personality test, which is why we were slightly longer than we anticipated."

She pointed to the one closest to her. "He is most driven by responsibility and duty. He's the most rigid out of the three." She smiled to show she meant no offence by what she said.

"He," she said, referring to the man in the middle, "is much more unorthodox about the way he approaches things. Almost to the point of recklessness and rebellion."

Elizabeth nodded. "That's a John I'm a bit more familiar with."

"And finally, he…" she paused, looking at Sheppard the closest to Teyla.

Teyla exchanged a glance with Heightmeyer before answering. "He is not afraid to use his charm to get out of doing things he doesn't want to. Like taking personality tests."

He shrugged his shoulders as he flashed Elizabeth a lazy smile. "Do you blame me?"

Rodney grunted. "Great, now we have John Sheppard, the kiss ass, the wise ass and the want some--"

"That's enough, Rodney," Elizabeth interrupted.

"To avoid confusion, each man is going to go by a different name," Kate explained. "Next to Teyla, we have John. Besides him is Sheppard. And finally, we have Elmer closest to me."

Rodney laughed. "Elmer? Tell me, is that after the glue or the cartoon?"

Sheppard squinted at him. "It's my middle name. Back off, Meredith."

"Actually, I wouldn't mind just being called Colonel, for the tenth time," said the colonel. He shot a look at Kate. "I promise, my psyche isn't going to suffer any long term damage just because I 'don't have a real name'. Besides, given my personality traits, doesn't it make more sense?"

Heightmeyer held up her hands. "Fine, we'll just call you colonel, Colonel."

"So now what do we do?" asked Elizabeth. "We can't exactly have three John Sheppards running around the base."

"I am not staying in my quarters the whole time," said all three men.

Sheppard winced. "We have really got to stop doing that."

"Elizabeth," Carson interrupted, "I don't see any reason of the colonel, any of them, should be restricted to do anything. They are as healthy as they have ever been. Outside of it being a bit peculiar, there is nothing wrong with them."

Elizabeth turned her glance to the redhead. "Since Dr. McKay and Zelenka don't have any idea when this problem might be fixed, it would be beneficial for them to get acclimated into their living environment. Locking them away could do more harm than good," came Heightmeyer's quiet reply.

Weir shot each of the men a look. "I trust each of you to be on your best behavior." She was answered with three looks of innocence, one more sincere than the other two. "We will all meet up again tomorrow evening for a progress report," she said, mainly addressing the scientists.

As they all stood up to leave, Elizabeth looked up. "Teyla, Ronan, if you could stay here for a second please."

Ronan exchanged a look with Sheppard and John looked forlornly at Teyla as the colonel pulled them out of the room.

When everyone had exited she turned to the two. "I need to ask a favor of the two of you. Please, keep an eye on the three of them. He spends more time with the two of you on his off time than anyone else."

Teyla smiled reassuringly at her. "We will do our best."

"None of the Sheppards need a baby sitter," Ronan disagreed.

Elizabeth grimaced. She knew this was a delicate situation. On one hand, she needed to try to allow John, all three of them, to have their dignity intact. But, on the other, she knew how much trouble one John could be.

"I am aware of that, Ronan. But, maybe it would be an easier adjustment if the two of you were around, just in case he has trouble adapting," she answered.

Teyla looked at Ronan. "It would be our privilege to help our friend out." She raised her eyebrows. "Come, Ronan."

After they left the room, Elizabeth put her head in her hands. For some reason, she could now emphasize with a mother of triplets.


	4. Chapter 4

Sheppard, John and the colonel walked to the control room, stares following them wherever they stepped. "This is just like at the court martial trial," all three of them muttered.

The colonel stopped and looked at the other two. "You know, we should really come up with a system so we aren't doing that all the time. It's distracting to everyone around us."

Sheppard crossed his arms. "Oh yeah? What would you suggest? That you do the talking for us?"

John stepped between the two men. "Hey, look, we're all in this crazy mess together. Let's try to just move past this until McKay comes up with a way to fix this."

Sheppard looked at him as if he was crazy. "The charm card only works on people who aren't yourself." His gaze shifted to the colonel. "No, no system. No rules. If you want to stop talking, fine. But I'm going to say what I want when I want."

The colonel was in disbelief. "Am I, I mean, are we really that defiant?"

John opened his mouth to answer, but was distracted when he saw Teyla and Ronan approaching them. "Teyla, Ronan, what are you doing here?" he asked with a smile.

"Weir wants us to watch you," Ronan rumbled.

Sheppard couldn't believe it. First, he had one of his clones insult him and now Elizabeth was turning his team into babysitters. He forced a smile. "That's ok. We're fine on our own."

Ronan turned to Teyla. "See? I told you. Let's go."

"Wait!" said Teyla and John at the same time for different reasons. "Let us at least go down to the mess hall and pick up something to eat. I know it has been hours since any of us has eaten," Teyla offered.

They all agreed, some more reluctantly than others. Throughout dinner, everyone walked by the table just to see "The Three Musketeers" as someone on base so eloquently decided to call them. The colonel was polite to those who stopped by; Sheppard wished that everyone would stop treating them like they were the freak show of the week; John talked with Teyla between each bite of food.

Teyla tried to hide her amusement towards the three men. When they were eating, they moved in sync with each other. Bite. Chew. Chew. Swallow. Repeat.

While this was entertaining, she knew soon enough the novelty of the situation would wear off. Soon, all three men would start to feel oppressed by having Ronan and her around all the time. She could tell Sheppard was already getting restless and knew the other men would be quick to follow.

No, she decided, to really help John through this ordeal, she would respect their personal space, being there when they requested it. She would need to talk to Elizabeth later.

After the third time of them picking up their drinks and swallowing simultaneously, Ronan finally had enough. Sure, he and Sheppard were friends, but three of them was almost too much to bear. "I'm going for a run."

Four pairs of curious eyes turned to him as he walked away. Teyla smiled apologetically to the men. "It has been a long day for us all. It is probably best that we go to our quarters for the night," she suggested.

The men looked at each other. Finally, they nodded. "You're right, today seems like it's been going on forever," the colonel said.

"Good night," Teyla said politely.

John put on his puppy dog look. "You're not going to walk me to my quarters?"

"I am sorry. I am afraid there are some things I must attend to before going to bed," she said apologetically. She got up from the table and left the men alone.

"You know, that is something we haven't figured out yet," John said.

"What's that?" the colonel asked.

"Who gets the bed," John answered.

The three of them looked at each other with a determined look in their eye. None of them were going to give up the bed easily. "First one there gets bed privileges?" Sheppard asked.

The other two nodded. "It's a deal."

Twenty minutes later, Teyla walked towards Sheppard's quarters. After speaking with Elizabeth, she and Ronan were no longer required to monitor John, Sheppard or the colonel's activities. She had tried to page them on the radio to let them know, but got no response.

Knowing that they couldn't have fallen asleep so quickly, she wanted to stop by and make sure everything was ok with the three of them. When she activated the door chime, there was still no answer. Seconds later, she heard a loud thump from the other side of the room.

She tapped her earpiece. "Chuck, this is Teyla. I need you to override the door controls to Colonel Sheppard's quarters. I believe there may be something wrong."

"All right," the young man responded, "you should have access now."

She waved her hand in front of the console and the door opened to a scene she could not have ever imagined. John, Sheppard and the colonel were on the ground wrestling with each other. "Excuse me," she said loudly.

All three men looked up at her with identical expressions of embarrassment on their face. One had a bloody nose, the other a busted lip, another one had the beginnings of a black eye.

"What happened?" she demanded.

The three got up and sat on the edge of the bed. "Um, each one of us wanted to sleep in the bed," one of them answered.

"Could you not have requested two other rooms?"

"But, this is my room," another answered.

"And mine."

"And mine."

Teyla was not impressed by their childish behavior. She was relieved she had gotten out of watching them; the three of them together were worse than when Sheppard and Rodney bickered. "Then I would suggest that you have someone bring you some sleeping bags. Fighting like children is unacceptable," she scolded.

All three nodded. One of them, who Teyla assumed was John, walked forward. "We're sorry. It's just really hard adapting to this. We'll be better, I promise," he said with a charming smile, his eye already turning a slight purple.

She turned her glance to the other two. "Teyla, I truly apologize. There is no excuse for our behavior. We'll get this problem worked out," said the colonel, though it was a little hard for her to understand because of his swollen lip.

Sheppard shrugged, wiping the blood off his nose. "Let's just hope McKay gets this problem figured out quickly."

She sighed, she knew Sheppard was going to be the most difficult to convince to "behave". At least the other two were willing to get along. "Should I have Dr. Beckett come down to assess your injuries?"

The three shook their heads. "Nah, we'll have someone being us up some ice and sleeping bags."

Teyla nodded. "Very well. Good night."

"Teyla, why did you come in here anyway?" asked Sheppard.

"I spoke with Dr. Weir and convinced her that the three of you did not need to have Ronan and I watch you. Perhaps I spoke too soon," she answered. Even Sheppard looked ashamed. "Good night."

After the doors closed, the blame started getting passed back and forth. "Good going, Sheppard. Now she's pissed," complained John.

"Well, if you hadn't tripped me in the hallway none of this wouldn't have happened," Sheppard shot back.

"You guys, we said that we were going to get along, remember?" reminded the colonel.

"Whatever," Sheppard said. "Let's just get those sleeping bags up here and get to sleep. Maybe I'll wake up and this will all be a bad dream."


	5. Chapter 5

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

The colonel opened his eyes, ready to start the day. To his left, Sheppard glared at him. "Did you really have to set the alarm to go off at four in the morning?"

"Do you know how behind we are in paperwork? I mean, I haven't file one field report since I returned to Atlantis. Not to mention performance assessments and approving the new crew list from the Daedalus--"

"You know, for the first time, I'm actually happy this whole thing happened. If it gets me out of doing that paperwork," mumbled John before he put a pillow over his head.

"Just don't make me look like a fool," warned Sheppard.

The colonel looked offended. "I think out of all of us, I am the best candidate for getting all the paperwork done as efficiently as possible."

"Whatever. Just turn off the light so I can go back to sleep," Sheppard said before flipping on his stomach. By the time the colonel had finished getting dressed, both men were snoring from their sleeping bags.

First things first, he needed breakfast. It was the most important meal after all, he thought. Since most everyone else on the base was asleep, he was spared any unwanted attention.

He had to admit, though it had been only one day, the constant stares and whispers everywhere he went were getting to him. He could only hope Rodney and Radek could find a solution soon.

Glancing in the mess hall, he was glad to see that only the chef, Mrs. B, was in there. She looked up from the stove. "What a surprise seeing you here this early, Colonel Sheppard," she greeted kindly. "Since you are the first one here for breakfast, have any special requests?"

"Nah," he said. "I'll just have some toast and coffee."

Before he had a chance to butter his bread, Rodney came in. McKay walked up to him and squinted, as if trying to see him better.

"Rodney--"

"Shh," he interrupted. "I want to see if I can guess which one you are."

Humoring his friend for a second, he put on his most bland expression. "Ok, guess."

He studied him, but instead of answering, he asked, "Is that a busted lip?"

The colonel put his fingers and touched the tender spot. "What if it is?" he asked defensively.

"Then I would guess that you were John and you got the busted lip from Teyla who was trying to put a stop to you putting the moves on her," he said smugly.

Several thoughts ran through the colonel's mind. Was John really putting the moves on Teyla? Why would Rodney assume Teyla wouldn't want him to "put the moves on her"? But what came out was, "You really think she could bust my lip open?"

Rodney looked at him as if he was crazy. "She can kick Ronan's ass. You don't stand a chance."

"Huh," the colonel said as he finished preparing his food. He took a seat at the closest table, hoping to be able to lock himself in his office with his paperwork and away from people until the situation resolved itself.

McKay sat next to him a minute later. The colonel tried to keep his annoyance to a minimum. "So, you never did tell me if I was right," Rodney said, putting a piece of bacon in his mouth.

"No, you weren't," he said, taking a big bite of toast.

"Well, since I know Sheppard wouldn't get up at the crack of dawn to watch the sun rise, I have to assume you're the colonel."

The colonel tapped his finger on his nose. "Ding. Have you guys made any progress?" he asked, changing subjects.

Rodney reluctantly shook his head. "There are over 60,000 pages of data on this device alone. Unfortunately, the Ancients didn't include a table of contents."

"Great," he said sarcastically.

"What? You don't like having two other yous running around? I am so jealous that I wasn't there," Rodney said. "Could you imagine everything that could get done around here?"

"Well, I, for one am grateful that you weren't," the colonel said.

Rodney narrowed his eyes. "You sure you aren't Sheppard?"

"Yes I am sure," he answered curtly.

"Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," complained Rodney.

"None of us slept on the bed. Don't you get it? None of us are really John Sheppard and that's the problem. You have three men who think that they have the sole right of being him. To me, I'm the real John Sheppard and the other two are fakes. I'm sure they feel the same way about me," he explained.

Rodney's eyes widened. He snapped his fingers a couple of times. "You may have helped me out. I'll contact you in a few hours."

The colonel drank the last of his coffee as he watched McKay leaving, tapping furiously at his tablet. He felt better after venting to Rodney. Time to get some work done, he thought.

He made his way down to his seldom used office. Usually the only time he was down there was to welcome new officers to the base and to hide out when he did something to make Elizabeth mad.

He opened the bottom drawer and started digging through it. Finally, he found what he was looking for. He pulled it up, the rest of the papers falling back into the drawer.

He set it on top of his desk…a laptop computer. He pushed the power button.

Nothing happened.

Since it had been so long, the battery must have drained. He tapped his earpiece. "McKay? Do you think you could send someone down here with a new battery for my laptop?"


	6. Chapter 6

John covered his eyes with his arm, trying to block the sun, but it was no use. He was up for the day. He jumped back with he saw Sheppard's sleeping face next to him. For a second, he had forgotten why he was sleeping on the floor.

Taking advantage of such a unique situation, he looked at Sheppard and studied his face. It was odd. It was the same face he looked in the mirror each morning, yet, it was different. He studied Sheppard's five o'clock shadow. It looked good on him, made him look manlier, he decided.

"You know, I'm trying to sleep," complained Sheppard.

"Just admiring our beauty," John quipped before hopping out of his sleeping bag.

As he passed the mirror in the bathroom, he looked at himself and winced when he saw his reflection. The black eye that he hoped would disappear overnight didn't. No one would miss this shiner. Oh well, he thought. There was nothing he could do about it now.

"Hey, you going to shave?" he asked Sheppard.

Sheppard opened one eye slightly. "Why?"

"Because the one who doesn't shave wouldn't get asked a million times which Sheppard he was. Everyone would know who that is," explained John.

"Then I'm not shaving," Sheppard answered.

John had expected that answer, already putting shaving cream on his face. Quickly, he got ready, deciding to leave his trademark wristbands for Sheppard, but taking his watch. At the last moment, he grabbed his sunglasses off the side table and put them on.

Unlike his efficient counterpart, he didn't know what he planned to do today. He supposed he could go down and check up on Rodney, but knew it would probably slow down his work. Walking around Atlantis' numerous corridors had lost its appeal a couple of years ago. If only something could spark his interest…

He walked aimlessly for a few minutes, subconsciously heading towards the east pier. As he was walking down the hall, he noticed Teyla walking across the intersection several yards ahead of him. Looking up to the sky, he mouthed a silent "thank you" as he broke into a slow jog to catch up with her.

"Hey Teyla," he said, a smile in his voice.

She paused in her walk and turn to him. "Good morning, John."

He was surprised. He thought he would have to tell her which John he was. "How did you know it was me?" he asked.

She looked at him with a bit of surprise. "I did not know," she said, reminding him of a time when she had trusted him with her life while he was being controlled by an alien. "But, out of the three, you seem to go out of your way to greet me."

He would have been embarrassed if it wasn't true. However, since this whole ordeal started, the only person he really felt comfortable around was Teyla. Her always pleasant nature seemed to compliment this side of him. "Well, what can I say? You bring the best out of me," he said with a smile. "So, what are you doing?" he asked before things started becoming too serious.

"Several of the young people are coming in this morning from the New Athos for some training," she answered.

"You mind if I watch? I have nothing better to do," he said.

She looked at him for a second, as if to assess why he wanted to come along.

He took off his sunglasses and gave her a puppy dog look. "Please?"

She winced, looking at the black eye he had. "You should have seen Dr. Beckett last night," she scolded lightly. "Perhaps he could have helped it not to be so swollen."

"You're right," he said, hoping to appease her. "So, can I go?"

Seeing he wasn't going to back down easily, she nodded. "Very well, you are welcome to join me in the gym. Though I should warn you, you will most likely find it uninteresting. Most of the people are still just learning the most basic skills."

He looked at her with her hair back in a ponytail, her sexy workout outfit. "Somehow," he said, putting the sunglasses back on, "I don't think I'll be bored."


	7. Chapter 7

Once Sheppard was sure Saint John or Colonel Kiss Up wasn't going to bounce back into his quarters, he finally got out of his sleeping bag. For the first time since the accident happened, he was finally alone. Growing up, he always wanted siblings, now he was glad his parents decided to stop after one kid.

He looked at the side table and noticed his earpiece and watch were missing. At least they had the decency of leaving his wristbands; it was one thing that made him feel normal.

After getting ready, Sheppard left his quarters, intending on giving McKay the third degree. It had been almost a whole day and so far, there was no progress. "So much for being a genius," he muttered.

Before he could get to the transporter, a booming voice called to him. "Sheppard," Ronan said.

He whipped around. "How did you know it was me?"

"Well, one of you has been in your office for hours and the other one just met up with Teyla. It isn't hard to tell which one of you is who," he answered simply.

Sheppard narrowed his eyes. "Have you been spying on me?"

"There's nothing better to do."

"You know, you have one mishap with an Ancient experiment and your dignity gets thrown out of the window," Sheppard complained. "Well, you can come with me. I was just about to go down to see why it's taking Rodney so long to figure out--" He stopped talking when Ronan tapped his earpiece.

"Ronan here."

"_Ronan, this is Weir. We have just been contacted by the Kesats. They have agreed to our trade."_

"Finally," he rumbled.

The Kesats were a people of disguise. They had spies on countless worlds including some who were part of the Genii and even Wraith. For weeks, they had been trying to negotiate a trade, information for supplies. The Kesats were reluctant, not trusting those from Atlantis. Finally, after the last meeting, Sheppard had convinced them they were not a threat to their people.

"Which Sheppard is coming along?"

That sparked Sheppard's interest. He was going somewhere?

There was a long pause. _"I'm afraid that under the colonel's current condition, I am not authorizing him to go on this mission."_

Ronan clinched his fist. He expected her to say that. "That's a mistake. The only reason why these people even agreed to this was because of Sheppard. If he's not there, they won't deal," Ronan said angrily.

"_I am aware of your concerns. Major Lorne has voiced the same issues, however, my decision still stands. You will accompany Major Lorne and his team to the planet. Be in the Gate room in fifteen minutes. Weir out."_

Ronan looked like he was going to punch a hole in the wall next to him.

"Let me guess, the Kesats?"

He nodded. "Weir won't let you go. Lorne's going instead."

Sheppard raised his eyebrows. "Oh I'm going. We can't lose this opportunity."

Ronan looked impressed at his defiance. It was one of the qualities that made Sheppard interesting to him. "How do you plan on coming? You know Weir watches every team leave."

"I'll take care of that. You just tell Lorne that I'm planning on going and under no circumstances is he to tell Weir. That's an order. I'll meet you at the east entrance to the gate room in twenty minutes," he said.

"We're leaving in fifteen."

"Fine. I'll be there in ten." He jogged back to his room. Opening the drawer to his side table, he found what he was looking for, his military issued hat. Unlike Ford, who wore his hat on a regular basis, Sheppard never bothered with the thing.

He quickly geared up, putting on the cap before leaving his quarters. He had to pushed it down a couple of times before it set on his head right; he never knew how spiky his hair was. Next, he needed his sunglasses. He knew John had them when he left earlier, probably trying to hide the black eye. So all he had to do was find him and he would be set.

He looked at his wrist, trying to check the time. No watch.

Figuring he was probably short on time, he walked as quickly as he could without being conspicuous. He remembered Ronan mentioning John was with Teyla, so he made his way to the east pier. He could only hope that they were there; if not, there was no time to try to find where else he could have gone.


	8. Chapter 8

John always liked his sunglasses; they protected him from the horribly bright suns he had encountered. Better yet, it made him look like a total bad ass. But today, he was discovering a new reason to enjoy his favorite accessory. They allowed him to check out Teyla without anyone being the wiser.

For the better part of an hour, he had been watching her go over different fighting techniques, some more familiar than others. He watched as her hair started slipping out of her ponytail, tendrils of hair caressing her face. She started to get sweatier as the practice continued. Yes, he thought, I am one lucky man.

Just as Teyla was swirling around her young student, the gym doors opened, revealing Sheppard. John could tell that whatever was going on, Sheppard was in a hurry. "I need those," Sheppard said without acknowledging anyone else.

John stood up, confused. "What?"

Sheppard impatiently waved him over to the door. He smiled quickly to Teyla. "I just need to talk to John really quick. Sorry about interrupting." When John approached him, he lowered his voice. "The Kesats agreed to make the trade."

John's eyes widened. "They did?"

Sheppard nodded. "But Elizabeth isn't letting any of us go. I'm sneaking in which is why I'm wearing this," he said, pointing to the hat. "I need my sunglasses though."

John didn't take them off his face. "I think that they are mine as much as they are yours."

Sheppard rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. But I need to go; I'm meeting Ronan in about five minutes."

"Don't you think I should be the one to go? After all, it was the charm of John Sheppard that finally convinced Caspar to trust us."

Sheppard shook his head. "No, I need to be the one to go. Besides," he said, nodding towards Teyla, "you seem a little preoccupied."

John involuntarily broke out in a grin. "Can you blame me? That woman is--"

"Don't have time. Besides, I know what you think about her because I feel the same way. Now, give me the sunglasses," Sheppard said.

"Ok, don't get caught though. Elizabeth will chew my ass out if she finds out that I am covering for you," John warned.

Sheppard flashed a shark's grin. "You know how sneaky I can be. Thanks," he said, putting on the sunglasses.

When John turned to face the students in the room, his black eye now dark purple, they looked at him with a frightened look on their face. One of them turned to Teyla and asked, "Is that what happens when you don't keep up with your daily training?"

Four minutes later, Sheppard ran up to Ronan. "You're late," he said.

"Well, blame John. He took my watch," Sheppard complained.

"Lorne wants you in the middle, helping to carry the supplies. He thinks that you won't be as noticeable there," Ronan explained.

"All right, then let's keep this show on the road," Sheppard said, walking into the gate room.

As expected, Elizabeth was standing at the balcony, looking down at the team. "Major Lorne, I expect radio contact in two hours."

Lorne nodded. "Yes, ma'am." He turned to the Marines and Ronan. "All right, people. Let's get in there and deliver these supplies and get back home." He nodded to Elizabeth.

"Dial the gate," Elizabeth instructed.

Within seconds the familiar wormhole appeared in front of Sheppard. Following the men and women in front of him, he said a quick "thank you" that Elizabeth hadn't discovered his plot. Without a look back, he stepped through the gate.

They had been walking for nearly twenty minutes. Unlike most of the people they had come in contact with, the Kesats' village was not located near the gate, but over three miles away.

About halfway to the village, Ronan walked next to Sheppard. "So what are you going to do if McKay can't figure out that machine?"

Sheppard glared at him through his sunglasses. "It hasn't even been a day. Even geniuses can't perform miracles."

"But still, you must have thought about it," Ronan pushed.

"Yeah, I've thought about it and I don't have an answer for you. SGC will only let this go on for so long before they get involved. Will they keep one Sheppard on base and give other assignments to the other two? I don't know. Because I'll tell you this, I'm not leaving Atlantis without one hell of a fight and I know the other two won't go to Earth willingly either."


	9. Chapter 9

Over an hour later, Elizabeth heard a knock on the wall outside her office. She looked up and saw one of the Sheppards looking at her. "Mind if I come in?"

She pointed to the chair in front of her. "Of course not. What can I help you with?" She didn't want to be insulting by asking him who he was.

"I wanted to let you know that all the paperwork that has accumulated since our return has been filed. It will be ready to send the next time you send data to SGC," he said.

Ah, she thought, this must be the colonel. "Well, I must say, I'm impressed. Usually I have to threaten you and even then I only get half of what I need."

He looked a bit embarrassed. "I guess it never seemed like much of a priority to me before the accident."

"How are you guys doing? I can only imagine the awkwardness," she said.

Frowning slightly, he answered, "I don't really know. I haven't seen either of them since this morning."

Elizabeth was surprised. "Really? I would have thought the three of you would have preferred to stick together."

He leaned forward in the chair, as if to tell her a secret. "You know, I never realized how annoying I can be sometimes. I mean, John is such a smooth talker, it makes me a bit nauseous. It's like he's always trying to make the peace, well, despite the jab in got in last night. And Sheppard, well, let's just say I know why my COs always thought I was a giant pain in the ass."

Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief. "But they are still you, faults and all. And I must say, that there have been times when both John's and Sheppard's attributes have contributed to the welfare of Atlantis. I value all of you."

The colonel shook his head, knowing there was no way he was going to be able to explain himself. "That's not the reason why I'm here though."

Slightly offended that he brushed her off, Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you here?"

"After I finished my paperwork, I went through the operations on base. I think I can make Atlantis run a bit more efficiently. I sent my proposal to you in an email," he said.

"You're criticizing the way I run Atlantis?" she asked disbelievingly.

"If you think of them more like suggestions, it doesn't seem so harsh," he said.

She smiled curtly at him. "I will take them into consideration." Before she could ask him to leave, Rodney came bouncing in the room.

"Oh good, you're here, Colonel," he said, taking the seat next to him. The colonel looked at him, a bit confused. McKay pointed to his lip. "It's a dead giveaway."

Elizabeth leaned forward on her desk. "I take it, you have some news."

"Actually, it was something the colonel said when we were talking this morning. It gave me an idea," he said.

Both Elizabeth and the colonel looked at him expectantly. Rodney looked at Elizabeth, a bit confused. "You want me to tell you now? I thought you would want everyone here before I tell you want I found."

"You mean you want to brag," the colonel said.

"Ah, well, now that you mention it, it is nice to receive credit for a discovery," Rodney said arrogantly.

"Fine, we'll meet in the conference room when the other Johns are found. Colonel, please go find John and Sheppard," she instructed.

Though he was disappointed that she didn't get a chance to look at any of his suggestions, he was happy to hear that McKay had some news.

John watched as Teyla wiped her forehead with her small towel. Minutes earlier, she had finished giving her lesson. "And you thought I would be bored."

She looked at him with a slight smile. "You surprised me, John. You were well-behaved. Do you want to practice?"

As much as he wanted to, he shook his head. "I'm still out of practice. There was no one on earth to spar with." He grinned. "You're the only one who has enough patience to train with me. Thirsty?" he asked, holding up a bottle of water they picked up before they came to the gym.

"Thank you," she said softly, as she took the bottle from him. "I have not had a chance to ask you how your time on Earth was."

He shrugged, not really wanting to think about his time there. If he wasn't bored, he was incredibly lonely. Though he had only been there two and a half years, Atlantis felt more like home to him than Earth did. "It was boring. Spent a lot of time behind a desk."

"You did not enjoy it? Often I find myself wishing I could return to my home world, if only for a while," Teyla admitted, taking a seat next to him.

"It was nice to see the familiar things, but they just seemed different. I missed the sounds of Atlantis, the puddle jumpers, you…" He paused, thinking of how much he missed Teyla.

She smiled warmly at him. "I missed you as well, John. It was a welcome sight to see you after so long. I had not fully understood how much our friendship meant to me." She looked out of the window. "I have wanted to ask you a question since you returned."

This could be interesting, he thought. "You know you can ask me whatever you want," he said.

"If we were not permitted to stay on Atlantis, would you still return to Earth?"

"Why?" he blurted out.

She shook her head slightly. "Never mind, Colonel."

"It's John, remember? And to answer your question, I don't know. I think that depends on what the circumstances are," he answered honestly.

Feeling bold, she met his gaze. "What would it require for you to stay?"

"This," he said, leaning forward and kissing her. Unlike their first kiss, she didn't push away. In fact, she seemed to be pulling him closer. Her lips were so soft, he thought in a daze. He brought his hand up and ran it through her hair. She wrapped her arms around him as they continued the kiss.

Countless kisses later, a sound from the door broke them apart. "Ahem," the colonel cleared his throat. They pushed away from each other like teenagers caught necking on the couch. "Rodney has made some wonderful discovery. Do you know where Sheppard is?"

Damn, he knew the colonel was already furious. Once he found out he covered for Sheppard, he would be royally pissed. "Well, um, he's not here."

Did his forehead really crinkle that badly when he was angry? "Where is he?"

"Kesats," John said quietly.

The colonel was about to explode. Not only was John making the moves on Teyla, but then he covered up the insubordinate actions of Sheppard. "Can I have a moment with you?" he asked John.

John looked at Teyla apologetically. How he would rather stay with her than face the wrath of the colonel. He walked outside the door so that the two of them wouldn't be fighting in front of Teyla.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" spat the colonel.

"Having a good time. Did you forget what that was?" shot back John.

"Listen, John, now is not the time to get into any…entanglements," the colonel said.

"Entanglements? Teyla is anything but that and you know it. And you know as well as I do that there is never a 'good time'. I just went with my feelings today and look where it got me; further than you have been in over two years," argued John.

The colonel ran his hand through his hair. How had things gotten so out of control? On one hand he had an AWOL counterpart and on the other, he had a Casanova. How in the world did they expect for everything to get back to normal when Rodney fixed everything?

"You know you can't let your feelings out," the colonel said.

"Why?"

"Because she is part of your team. If you get into a relationship with her the dynamic of the team would be off. You would show favoritism to her," the colonel explained.

John wasn't buying into his argument. "You know as well as I do that is a load of crap. Teyla already has affected the 'dynamic' of the team. You listen to what she has to say first."

"That's because she knows the worlds around here." Even to the colonel, his argument sounded weak.

"You know, for once, it feels good to feel wanted. Maybe you should get your head out of your--"

The door opened with Teyla standing on the other side of it. "Colonel, John, that is enough. We should go tell Dr. Weir where Sheppard is."

John felt deflated. Now Teyla was upset with him. He would have continued feeling that way, but as Teyla walked by, she grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. The colonel shook his head in jealousy and walked away.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's notes: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed my little baby! I appreciate it so much!

Fifteen minutes later, John and the colonel were seated in front of Elizabeth's desk. "So you mean to tell me that you just let Sheppard walk out of here, knowing it was against my direct orders?"

"Well, yes I did. But that's only because I knew the mission would fail if one of us didn't show up. Their leader, Caspar, would have called the whole deal off. Even the good ol' colonel can't disagree with that," John said.

Elizabeth didn't know what had happened, but there was obviously some tension between the two of them.

The colonel hesitantly nodded. "They are right. If Sheppard didn't go, the fragile trust we had with the Kesats would have been lost. I wouldn't have gone about it the same way, but it was the right thing to do."

Elizabeth leaned back in her chair. "Major Lorne and Ronan expressed the same concerns to me before they left. They made radio contact about twenty minutes ago; they plan to be back to Atlantis within the hour. For now, I want the two of you to stay in the conference room."

The two men looked at each other with a scowl.

"Is there something going on that I should know about?"

"No." Both men answered simultaneously. In unison, they got up from their chairs and made their way to the conference room.

Finally, Sheppard, Ronan and the rest of the team returned to Atlantis. According to Lorne, the exchange had gone smoothly, thanks to Sheppard. Elizabeth walked up to Sheppard with a frown on her face. "I expect for you to not go against my orders."

"Well, technically, you never told me not to go," Sheppard pointed out.

Weir didn't think he was going to admit any fault, but she still felt like she needed to confront him. "No, but you made Ronan and Lorne go against what I said. You have put me in an awkward position."

"Look, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. It's just I know that if I didn't go, the mission would have failed. I'll take the slap on the wrist to make sure the welfare of Atlantis is safe," Sheppard said.

"Your…The colonel and John agreed with you. In fact, I think it's the only thing you all have agreed upon," Elizabeth observed. "Come on, Rodney thinks he may have figured out a solution to the problem."

When the rest of the team, including Zelenka and Carson, assembled in the conference room, an unfriendly silence greeted them. "Did I miss another knock out fight?" Sheppard asked as he took a seat between the colonel and John.

Everyone looked at the trio questioningly. "Let's just hear what McKay has to say, ok?" John asked, hoping everyone would drop the issue.

Fortunately, Rodney was more than welcome to hear his voice. "Well, after doing some extensive research, I finally discovered the reason why the Ancients made this machine."

"Actually, it was Dr. Davis who figured it out," interrupted Zelenka.

Rodney shot his a disapproving look. "Apparently it was another attempt to win the war against the Wraith. They knew that they were severely outnumbered so they created this machine to try to even the odds. This machine is actually quite amazing, not only does it have the ability to duplicate DNA but it can also manipulate personality traits.

"The diplomat," he said, pointing to John. He shifted his gaze to Sheppard. "The soldier and the leader," he explained, nodding to the colonel. "Each one was to have a specific mission. The soldiers were to go and command the war ships. The leaders were stay here and try to keep Atlantis safe and the diplomats were to go on peace negations with the Wraith, which I don't think ever happened."

"But?" Sheppard asked, knowing something in the experiment had to go wrong.

"The separation of the person was supposed to be short term, a couple of months at most. When they completed part in fighting the war against the Wraith, they were able to return back to the way they were. But, when they tried to merge the people back together, it didn't work," Rodney continued.

"What do you mean 'it didn't work'?" asked Elizabeth.

Rodney looked to Carson. "They were having a problem of overloading the person's brainwave patterns."

"Basically, their minds shut down," Carson explained. "Having three sets of memories for the same time period was just too much to bear. The first subjects ended up in a coma."

"What?!" all three Johns exclaimed.

"But, they managed to fix that problem," Rodney interjected before anyone could get too panicked. "They managed to develop a 'filter' to where only one of the clones' memories would be retained. The others would be forgotten."

"I bet that didn't go over too well," the colonel said. The other two Sheppards nodded.

"No, actually, it didn't. There is only one documented case where an Ancient reverted back in his original self. In all the other cases, the subjects refused to revert back," Rodney explained.

"So, what? There were three of the same Ancients running around Atlantis?" Elizabeth asked.

Rodney shrugged. "They didn't say what each person did, only that they didn't go through with the reversal."

"What about after the procedure? Did the Ancient that reverted back return to the way he was before the experiment?" Teyla asked.

"We're assuming, yes."

"That's a pretty big assumption, McKay," the colonel complained.

"Well, that's the only answer I can give you. The reversal was obviously a success or they wouldn't have continued with the experiment."

Elizabeth rubbed her temples. Decisions on Atlantis were never easy, this one was no different. She looked at the three men across the table. "What do you think?"

"I think we should talk about it."

"I'm not giving up my memories."

"Can't McKay figure out a way to not put me in a coma without a memory wipe?"

Rodney shook his head. "There's no other option. Either one of you gets to keep his memories or there will be three John Sheppards."

The three men looked at each other. "We need to talk," they said in unison.

Elizabeth nodded. "All right, let us when you have made your decision."

Everyone left the room, leaving the men together. "I know that none of us are willingly going to give up their memories," the colonel said.

"True, but I don't see SGC allowing the three of us to stay here either," John said. "And I'm not leaving."

"Neither am I."

"Me neither."

John blew out a breath. "Now we have to decide whose memories we get to keep."

Sheppard spoke first. "I think it should be me. I finalized the trade with the Kesats. There are things that went on that only I would know about. If we lose those memories, it could end up costing our alliance with them."

"That's a good point," John conceded. "About you?"

The colonel, still angry at John, ignored his question. "Why do you think you should be able to keep your memories? So that you can remember kissing Teyla?"

Sheppard turned to John. "You kissed Teyla?"

John shrugged. "It was just the right moment. Look, you would have done the same thing." He addressed the colonel. "I really don't have a reason why it should be me. Yes, it would be nice to remember that Teyla is interested in me. You never know, it just might lead to something amazing."

Sheppard looked at him seriously. "I'm never going downplay the importance of a relationship. We all know how hard it is to find a woman who tolerates people like us."

The colonel rolled his eyes. "You both are thinking about this all wrong. We need to decide who gets to keep their memory based on the process of elimination. We can't keep John's memory because it would ruin the team. We can't keep your memory because then we would have to explain to SGC why you defied Elizabeth's orders. Therefore, the only logical explanation is for me to keep my memories."

"I don't think so," both Sheppard and John said at the same time.

Nearly two hours later, the three men approached Elizabeth's office. "We're ready."

She stood up and walked to them. "What are you planning to do?"

"We're going to go through the reversal process," the colonel said.

"Whose memories are you going to keep?"

John smiled at her. "We're planning on keeping that our little secret for now."

Weir nodded. "All right." She tapped her earpiece. "Rodney, go ahead and start getting things ready. They're going to go through with the reversal."

Thirty minutes later, the small room was packed. Teyla, Ronan and Elizabeth stood furtherst away. Carson and a couple of his staff were off to the side incase something went wrong. In front of the small team of scientists, Radek and Rodney were working. John, the colonel and Sheppard stood in front of the machine.

"We're decided, right? I don't want to go into a coma just because one of you changed his mind," Sheppard said.

"If you go into a coma, we all do," reminded the colonel. "And yes, we know whose memories we will keep."

Rodney stood in front of them. "This is how it works. All three of you will stand on the platform. The two of you who are not going to keep their memories have to clear their mind. Do not think about anything within the past two days. The other one needs to only focus on the past two days. From what we understand, the filter will pick up the difference in the brainwaves."

"Very reassuring, Rodney," Sheppard grumbled.

"Yes, well, that's why we have Carson here. We're ready whenever you are," Rodney said, returning back to the controls.

The three looked at each other and nodded. "Here goes nothing," John muttered.

After they stepped on the pad, the three closed their eyes. Within seconds, they disappeared off the platform. Rodney turned to Elizabeth. "It should be about five minutes, I'm seeing the same energy spikes as before."

Elizabeth nodded. She turned to Teyla. "Did either of them tell you whose memories he was going to keep?"

Teyla slowly shook her head. "No."

"Me neither," Ronan said.

The five minutes passed slowly for everyone in the room. Finally, the floor of the platform lit up and one John Sheppard appeared. Carson walked up to him. "Colonel, how are you feeling?"

He looked around. "Good, I guess. I do have one hell of a headache."

Carson nodded. "All right, lad. Let's get you to the infirmary." He nodded to his assistants to put Sheppard on the gurney.

"It's ok, I can walk. I'll meet you down there. Then you can run whatever tests you need to," John said. He turned to Rodney. "So, I guess it worked, huh?"

Rodney nodded, half-distracted. He and the other scientists were already pouring over the data they had just collected.

He walked up to his friends. "Everything's back to normal." Looking at Elizabeth, he said, "I promise, no more touching Ancient devices."

She smiled briefly. "I want a full report on your condition after Carson looks at you."

"Yes, sir," he said playfully.

Ronan grabbed his shoulder. "Good to see you, Sheppard. All one of you."

John smiled back. "It feels good to be back."

He watched the two of them walk out of the room. Turning to Teyla, he asked, "Wanna walk me to the infirmary?"

"Sure," she said, leaving the room. As they walked down the hallway, she looked at him. "If you do not mind me asking, whose memories did you decide to keep, Colonel?"

They approached the transporter doors which opened immediately. "I'll let you guess." He grabbed her face and kissed her soundly.

She pulled back after a few seconds. "It's good to see you...John," she said as the door shut.


End file.
